Only Child
by livie2k6
Summary: 16years after the death of Bella,moms other daughter,Marie travels to Forks to lay flowers on her half-sister's grave.But when she falls in love with one of Bella's old friends,can her life ever be the same?Or will the secrects she learns only end in pain
1. Chapter 1:The Meadow

**Bella**

"Edward," I whispered , my breathing loud and steady as I lay there- perfectly content - waiting for him to bite me. " I love you; but please hurry up, the suspense is killing me." Edward muttered something along the lines of 'Soon it wont be the suspense that's killing you.' But I didn't care, even Edwards heart shattering remarks about killing me and taking my soul couldn't dampen my spirits today. Edward had to change me; it was part of the compromise. And I was ready.

I felt Edward moving beside me - it was midday in the clearing now, Edward's skin was shimmering in the few streaks of sunlight that we slipping through the clouds, needless to say, he looked more like a statue made of diamond than a husband. My husband. I smiled, looking first at Edward, and then the delicate gold ring that sat on the 3rd finger of my left hand. Where I knew it would remain for the rest of eternity.

I was snapped out of my daze by Edwards lips, softly pressing against mine for the last time in my human life.

"Bella," he breathed, his lips hovering millimetres from mine. "Calm down, im not going to change my mind, but please be patient. I love you, and im so so very sorry for doing this to you."

Pain flashed across his butterscotch eyes as his lips travelled slowly down the contours of my face, pausing at my neck.

I felt him bite into my skin, the sharp pain making me wince but Edward continued to linger there, putting as much venom into me as possible. I bite down on my bottom lip, resisting the urge to scream. I knew it was the last thing Edward would want to hear at the moment.

Finally, Edward pulled away. I knew it was a matter of seconds before the burning would start and I struggled back my screams.

"E..Ed..Edward," I said, wincing after each sound only increase the pain. "stay with me." Suddenly I began to feel the unpleasant burning sensation fill my veins. I cried out, unable to keep Edward from hearing my pain. I was clinging to the edge of consciousness as I looked round desperately for his face.

But before I could find it, the pain overcame me, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2:Voices in the Background

_A/N : Okay I forgot to write one for the last one, the first few chapters are in Bella's perspective, but once her story is told fully I shall only write in Marie's point of view. Im sorry the 1__st__ chapter was so short, but then I guess all the ones Bella tells will be. After all, she can only tell a very small part._

_Wow im amazed at how many people have favourite authored me already, im struggling to concentrate on write this as my email alert keeps popping up. Im going as fast as I can guys, is 12:35am! Thanks to everyone who read the 1__st__ chapter! It makes me feel special, no one reads my normal stories. _

_Im also going to apologise in advance for the fact that my updating will be very slow. Im not the fastest writer and I really need my friend and co-plot thinker Catherine to read through and find my mistakes. This chapter was difficult, we spent our geography lesson reading it and I then spent the rest of the day re-writing it, even though I had a German speaking test. So yeah, this is gonna be a bit slow. I have a ton of homework and I have my first call back __ever__ for a play. So please don't be too hard on me, im under pressure!_

_J_

_Livie x (please review, it could really help me)_

**Bella**

My eyelids opened to a blinding white light. I lay on a cold stone floor which was as white as the light that surrounded me. But it was too bright. I blinked, trying to make my eyes adjust to the harsh conditions. It took about 20 seconds of frantic blinking before the light finally gave in and my eyes adjusted. I was about to breathe a sigh of release, but then I heard I loud mumbling voice echoing all around me.

I could tell what the voice was saying, the sounds it was making we un-eligible and gave away no sounds of emotion. Despite this I knew instantly that it was the voice of somebody I knew, someone I was very close to. I sat up, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Hoping desperately to remember who's voice it was, wanting comfort that was nowhere to be found. In the blazing whiteness that surrounded me so completely I saw no one. I was alone.

I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there, did time even apply when there was nothing but whiteness. I hadn't seen any point in trying to run, or even move; after all, what was there for me to run to? As I shifted on the hard, stone floor, trying to get comfortable, more muffled mumbles filled the air. I was pretty sure I knew the owners of these voices to. But I yet again had no way of recognising them. The voices where increasing in volume now, all but the one I had heard first, which felt like it was right next to me, almost trying to calm me. Emotion was starting to break through the voices, but the words were still muddled and confused.

There was anger, and fear. The fear was coming from the calming voice, which was also giving off what I could only describe as love. The voices got louder still. The volume overpowering me. I snapped my hands over my ears, trying to drown out the voices, the anger in them was making me nervous. I couldn't take it anymore, my head was spinning. I shifted so that I was lying with my cheek pressing into the cool marble floor. Then the sobs came.

Confused and alone I felt like a child, my mind, trying to cling to whatever threads of sanity or humanity that were left had put me into child mode. I had no control over myself as I lay there, sobbing loudly, not bothering to wipe away my tears. I didn't want to be here, but as I could see no way out, no means of escaping my white prison. I had given up without really trying. This thought only brought on a fresh wave of tears, the sound of these drowning out the anger.

Suddenly, pain ripped through my body, I felt the white room slipping away from me and I fought to stay there, not wanting to find out what form of torture was coming next. But I couldn't stay there, it was gone really before I noticed its departure.

Only Child chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3:Upon Awakening

**Disclaimer****: I don't own twilight, Stephenie Meyer does ****J **

**Bella**

The voices were still with me, only now I could here what they were saying. However I tried not to concentrate on them as I slowly prised my eyelids open. There leaning over me was the single most beautiful person I had ever seen. Then my brain caught up with me. It was Edward.

I jumped up and hugged him, my arms wrapping themselves around his waist, pulling myself closer to him. I glanced up at his face and saw my favourite crooked smile. I smiled back uncontrollably before asking.

"Did it work?" Deep down I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it out loud. Edward nodded as Alice skipped gracefully into the room.

"Bella," she said as she pulled me away from Edward's arms "You look terrible."

An evil smile flashed across her face as she dragged me into her vast bathroom. I knew now I could put up a fight against her constant Barbie Bella attacks but to be honest, I was excited. For once in my life I actually wanted to see what I looked like. I caught sight of my face in a mirror and my jaw dropped. Literally. It was me, but I was beautiful. My features were perfectly defined, my lips full, my eyes rounded and big-although a startling shade of red - my nose was better than any plastic surgeons creations. For once, I actually felt that I could rival Rosalie for looks. That though scared me. I looked down at my body. Thin, wiry muscles covered my arms and legs. My stomach was flatter, and for the first time in my existence I had _curves_. My hair- although horrendously matted- was shinier that it had ever been, even with products. I flinched as I drew my gaze to my eyes, they were red, bright red. That is going to take some getting used to I said to myself.

"Bella." Alice said, taking me out of my trance "Get in the shower and wash your hair. The towels are there and there are some clothes on the chair. Be quick."

She skipped out of the bathroom leaving me to begin the process of washing myself. I sighed and jumped into the shower at top speed. I knew the quicker I washed the less time I would have to spend as Alice's personal Barbie doll and the quicker I could return to Edward. I thought of him and only him as I began to shampoo my hair.

I was done showing almost as soon as I began. I hadn't felt the need to linger under the warm water, well I assume it had been warm, I hadn't really noticed the temperature. The clothes Alice had left out for me were nothing special, just grey jeans and a light pink top. I was glad she was clearly not planning on me going out tonight. Thank god.

As soon as I left the bathroom I was pounced upon by Alice and two rather powerful looking hair dyers, I didn't feel the need to protest as she sat me down and began blasting my hair. It was dry in a matter of minutes.

"Alice," I asked her once she had finished attacking me with hair products "Do I look okay?"

She carefully placed her vas collection of hair products in a draw before answering. "Bella, you look fine. But we really need to go shopping once you've got some control; these clothes don't fit you right."

I resisted the urge to sigh. That answer was so typically Alice, but it didn't help. I was worried: would Edward like the new me, would he still love me, would things change or stay the same. My newly intensified senses didn't help, I was a nervous wreck. Where was Jasper when you needed him.

"But Alice, will Edward like me?" I asked her as I began biting my nails.

"Err, hello Bella. In case you didn't already notice Edward already loves you, did you not see the way he was looking at you earlier. Besides, Edward doesn't love you for what you look like, he loves you for what's on the inside as well you know."

I nodded, the truth in Alice's words slowly sinking in.

"Im just being silly aren't I?"

"Yes, now get out there. Edward is taking you hunting."

I had jumped up and left the room before I even realised what I was doing and was sprinting at top speed when I crashed- loudly-into an unsuspecting Edward. The sheer speed of our collision caused us both to hit the floor before either of us had time to react. I landed on top of Edward, laughing.

"Sorry." I said, realising that if I were human right now I would have been bright red. Edward didn't reply, instead he began kissing my passionately. No longer needing to be cautious. I don't know how long we lay there, where we had fallen kissing, I didn't want it to end, but every so often I felt a burning at the back of my throat. Eventually, when the burning became particularly strong I prised my lips away from his and jumped up onto my feet.

Edward stood up next to me, a smile spread across his face. "You thirsty?" he asked. I nodded. Edward grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me down the stairs and our of the house.

We were deep in the forest in a matter of seconds. I was surprised by how different everything was, it was like watching a TV change from being black and white with a fuzzy picture, to it suddenly being HD and huge. I could now tell the difference between one bit of forest and the next. The place even smelt different, like rotten wood mixed with those evergreen car air freshener things. Then I smelt the deer.

It was dead & bleeding before I even realised what I was doing. The sight of the blood drove me into a frenzy, I could see why Edward, hadn't wished this upon me, I had no control over what I was doing. I put my lips to the wound and began to feed. The blood tasted meaty, like beef or lamb. I was surprised; it wasn't anywhere near as bad as id been anticipating it to be. It took mere seconds for me to drain the creature completely of blood.

"That was quick." Edward said from behind me.

I jumped up quickly, "I guess I was thirsty."

Then I caught the scent of another deer, I was off running through the forest toward my unsuspecting prey. I took 3 more deer before I managed to dull the burning thirst from the back of my throat. Edward stayed silently behind me the whole time.

"You done now Bella?" Edward asked me as I stood, wiping a few stray trickles of blood from my face.

"Yeah." I replied as he walked over to me, taking my hand in his. We ran like that, hand in hand the whole way home.

We were welcomed by sheer chaos. Esme and Carlisle we randomly shoving various paintings and vases into boxes. I could hear Alice stuffing clothing into suitcases upstairs. Just the Jasper ran past us, carrying two boxes, he took them to the garage and placed them into the boot of Alice's car.

"Carlisle," Edward's voice quivered slightly. "What's going on?"

Carlisle hesitated before answering, when he did, his gaze fell firstly onto me, and the Edward.

"The Wolves."

He didn't need to say anything more, Edward let go of my hand and ran to his room. I smiled sheepishly at Carlisle before running upstairs after him.

Edward was sitting at the end of our bed, hugging his knees, he slowly rocked himself backwards and forwards.

"Bella, I am so so very sorry." He whispered as he watched me enter the room. I ran to his side and wrapped my arms around him, protecting him, doing what he considered his job for once.

"Edward you don't need to apologise. I knew this would happen, I should be the one apologising. Because of me, our entire family has to move. This is my fault, if anyone's. I should have looked at all the outcomes before inflicting myself upon you. Please forgive me."

Edward was clearly horrified by my speech. His arms managed to wrap themselves around me, he pulled me to face him. Gazing straight into my eyes he spoke again.

"Bella there is nothing to forgive you for, I wanted this just as much as you did. We both knew it would happen someday." I nodded, he smiled his crooked smile before continuing. "Since today will be your last day in Forks, and the others seem to have the packing situation pretty much under control, you want to go to Charlie's one last time?"

I was surprised by his question, "But wont I attack Charlie when I see him?" This thought worried me, I didn't want to be an out-of-control newborn, I wanted to be graceful, to be in control. I wanted to be like Edward.

"Charlie will be at work, but you should leave him a note or something saying we're leaving town. Besides, you probably will want to say goodbye. I mean, Charlie is your father, it would be rude of you to just leave."

"I guess your right, oh, I want to get the CD you made me for my birthday, its still im my room."

"Lets go then." He said as he picked me up wedding-style and ran with me in his arms. The one place I considered truly safe.

When we got to Charlie's, nobody was home. Edward took me straight to my room. It was the same as it had always been, but it no longer felt remotely like home. I went straight to my ancient CD player and ejected the CD. I looked round for the case, Edward took the CD from me and placed it inside the case before pulling me towards him and hugging me tightly.

We stood there, content with just being next to each other, for a few minutes. Until the phone interrupted us. I was down stairs and answering it before it reached the second ring.

"Hello." I said into the receiver, expecting it to be one of those people trying to sell me something, but instead, I was greeted by the joyful squeal of my mother.

"Bella!" she exclaimed,

"Hey Mom." I replied. Wondering what could have possibly made her so happy.

"Oh my, Bella you will not believe why Im calling."

"Well im not going to if you don't spit it out."

"Bella, im pregnant, your going to have a little brother or sister."

"Oh, mom, that's fantastic." I said, though I was saddened by the fact that I now had a sibling I would never knew. It made the whole, leaving and never coming back thing rather difficult. "I was just going to call you, you know."

"You were, that's scary huh. So what was it you were going to call me about?" My mom now sounded slightly nervous, I was hoping she wasn't thinking what I thought she was.

"Well, im leaving for college today."

"What, so soon?"

"Yeah, Edward and I are going to rent an apartment together, apparently they don't provide dorms for married couples."

"Oh honey, your really growing up. Opps, I gotta go, lots of people to call. Don't forget to tell Charlie my news. And Bella.."

"Yeah mom."

"Look after yourself, don't forget to call me when you get there."

"I wont, bye mom, say congratulations to Phil for me."

"I will, see you soon Bells, bye."

As soon as I had put down the phone Edward walked over to me and hugged me. In that instant I realised that everything was going to be okay. Sure, I was going to have a sibling I would never know, one that would never know me. My ex-best friend was on his way to my house to kill me, and I was leaving my parents without them even knowing. But I was taking with me the one thing I couldn't live without, I was taking my rock, I was taking my Edward. And everything would be ok if he was with me.

I scribbled a quick note to Charlie, saying that Renée had called, and leaving him Edwards cell phone number for him to call. I then left the house I had spent some of the happiest days of my life in, forever, with Edward by my side.

**A?N**

**Hey I a realising that it has taken me a while to update but I takes me ages to write. I also had to do other things, like homework and going to the cinema.**

**So yeah, I know it sounds like the end here, but it is kinda. This is the last bit of Bella's perspective, I hope I did Stephenie some form of justice.**

**Tatty bye**

**Livie.**

**Btw I don't own twilight **

Livie's Twilight FanFic J Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4:Welcome to Scenic Nowhere

17 Years Later

"Mom, hurry up, were gonna miss our flight." I shouted up the stairs of our house.

"I am. Honey, why don't you and your Dad go wait in the car, I'll only be a moment."

I sighed and stepped out of my house, into the Jacksonville sunshine, for the last time until fall. My Dad, former played turned coach of the Suns, was coaching almost 2 months of away games, all over the country. My mom had decided we might as well make a vacation out of it. For us there would be no baseball involved, thank god.

We were going to Seattle first, a few days early. Mom really wants to go see Bella's grave. Bella was my half-sister, from what I've seen she looked a lot like my mom. She died before I was born, it was just after she had got married. Her and her husband were killed in a car crash. Mom's still pretty messed up about it. She cries continually for hours every September 13th, then feels compelled to tell me everything she possibly can about Bella. I mean- no offence to my mom but I get sick of hearing it, once your dead your dead, it doesn't even make me sad that I had a sister. I never knew the girl; if my mom knew how I felt about this she'd probably throw me out.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by my parents putting the last of the suitcases into the trunk, before they both slowly climbed into the front seats. I silently sighed. Mom wasn't getting any younger, neither was Dad but he didn't look old enough to be one of my grandparents, yet. All to soon we were speeding away from my neighbourhood, from my home, my friends, from the heat and humidity I loved so much. It was going to be a long summer.

Fortunately- despite our late start - we arrived at the airport with 20 minutes to spare. I decided to use the time to buy myself some dinner, to spare me from having to eat the food they give you on planes, the stuff always smells the same, horrible. I made my way to the Burger King that was right next to our gate, I love Burger King, my parents usually don't let me get it but today they had no choice, Dad couldn't force health foods on me if there weren't any near by. Decided to get a whopper, not because I was hugely hungry but because I knew how tempted my dad would be if I sat there and ate it in front of him. He has this 'healthy eating' thing going on with the team he coaches, but they would let him just force it upon them, they're making him join in too. Watching dad sit there trying to eat salad is hilarious, he hates them. I know for a fact he sneaks downstairs at like 2 in the morning and gets himself cake or chocolate. If he didn't he'd be thinner right now.

I sat there eating my whopper _really_ slowly until I could see sweat dripping off dads forehead as tried to resist taking the burger off me. What made it worse- for dad- was the fact that our flight was called before I was even half way through it. I swear he shed a tear as I threw it into the bin. We turned out to be on one of those planes with rows of three, so I would have to sit by my parents. They- in keeping with their embarrassing tradition of treating me like a 5 year old- immediately gave me the window seat. They really know how to make a teenage girl happy. I fell asleep about an hour into the flight.

When I woke up we were still in the air, Dad was snoring in the seat next to me while mom was sitting watching whatever crappy movie they were showing today. I smiled at her as I sat fiddling with my ipod, trying to find a song I actually wanted to listen to. What was the point in having 1000's of songs if you didn't want to listen to any of them. In the end I gave up, putting my ipod onto shuffle. I sat gazing absent-mindedly out of the window. At the moment the sky was a perfect blue, but we were beginning to creep slowly toward the layer of thick, grey clouds that lay beneath us.

All too soon the flight was over. We left the peaceful hum of the plane for the manic chaos of the airport terminal. I sighed this was not what you wanted to hear when your body thought it was the middle of the night. Naturally, our bags took the longest to drag themselves around the stupid conveyer belt- by the time we left the airport after my dad had secured us a rental I was dead on my feet. I didn't even notice what kind of car we had, I just got in the back of it.

My memories of arriving at the hotel and getting to our room were hazy, the next thing I remembered was my mother shaking me awake.

"Marie honey, time to wake up or you'll miss breakfast." she was saying rather quietly- if she hadn't have said the world breakfast I wouldn't have heard her, im a sucker for breakfast in the morning. I slowly pulled myself out of bed, it felt way to early to be waking up but I knew mom and dad wanted to hit the road as soon as possible.

"Morning Mom." I mumbled incoherently as I rubbed my eyes, and then began my morning ritual of stretching. When I was done, I made my way slowly over to the corner where I had carelessly thrown my bag the night before. I opened it and grabbed a pile of clothing, I what I was wearing wouldn't matter much, I was going to be spending most if not all of the day in the car.

When I was done I shoved my wash bag and Pjs into my bag, and then went into my parents 'room' to tell them I was good to go. They were both sitting at the end of the bed, holding hands and gazing into each others eyes in such an intimate way that I could not possibly look at them. They shouldn't do this anymore, mom's what, nearly 60, eww. I looked at the floor as I told them I was ready.

Breakfast was pretty simple, it was just the usual hotel choice or cereal, nothing special. When we were finished mom sent Dad and I back to the room to collect our bags while she checked us out. I was still slightly confused as to why we were driving all the way to Forks when there was a perfectly good flight that cut off hours of pointless travelling, but whatever, if my parents wanna waste fossil fuels they are more than welcome too.

At some point early into the journey I fell asleep. The constant blur of green and grey that flew past my window was oddly comforting, as if I subconsciously belonged in this place- I knew I didn't. I woke up just as we were approaching the town, it was raining, just my luck. I could see no obvious reason why any person, sane or not, would choose to live in Forks, and I hadn't even got there yet.

We were staying at this pokey motel in one of the many roads that had been clear-cut into the forest. The place had virtually no mod-cons, but you didn't expect that of a place such as Forks. Perhaps the only redeeming part was the fact I would have my own room, however it was still nothing special.

"Marie, were going to get some dinner, you coming?" My dad shouted through the door of my room as I unpacked my bag.

"Yeah Dad, just gimme a sec." I replied as I rummaged through my case to get my bag and more importantly my cell phone.

We went to some pokey restaurant for dinner, it was ok I guess, nothing to fancy. It was the kind of place you saw portrayed in movies set in small towns and definitely not what I was used to back home. The food wasn't great, neither was the company. I was glad when we got back to the motel, being asleep all day had made me horribly tried. I was knackered to say the least, and not at all anxious about what my first full day in Forks would hold, I just wanted to get this trip over with.

**AN**

**Well here is chapter 4. Yes, I havent updated in frickin ever. Bite me.**

**Im sorry but I have a social life, unfortunately my drama teacher doesn't realise this.**

**Please review, I need ideas, writers block is soo not fun!**

**BTW this chapter is dedicated to Bree Carter ( if that's still her username) , basically she reviewed each chapter, it made me happy. Have a virtual cookie on me )**

**Liviex**

Livie's Twilight FanFic J Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5:Visiting the Past

**Disclaimer:**** Stephenie Meyer owns the characters (well, all but Marie) I own the plot ****J**

The morning of the impending grave visit dawned grey and miserable. 

"Honey, we're gonna go get breakfast, you coming?" my Dad shouted as he knocked on my door. 

"Nah, im not hungry right now Dad," I replied. "See you guys when you get back."

"Okay hun, but if you want anything later just call, alright. We should be back by 10:30."

"Kay, see you later."

I had totally lied to me Dad, I was starving! But I didn't want to sit in some small town diner eating pancakes, well I didn't today anyway. I decided instead to call my friend Steph, he parents decided to go camping, in the middle of the frickin' desert. Who does that now days anyway? Steph's parents I guess. 

I gave up trying to call Steph after the 3 time I was greeted with her answer phone. Maybe she forgot to take her charger with her, I decided that I'd try her again later. I shrugged it off , got dressed and went to spend the morning watching TV. I flicked through the channels absentmindedly, finally settling on a re-run of some high school drama program from the noughties. The storyline was complicated and it made it worse that I didn't know who the hell anyone was, however there was something about it that made me unable to switch it off.

Mom and Dad got back at almost 20 minuets after they said they would, they'd picked up some flowers for the grave on the way. We left the motel and drove to the town cemetery in silence. The sky was a threatening shade of grey, rain clouds were gathering in the distance. We picked our way through the graves carefully, dad and I trailing behind, unable to keep with the pace mom had decided to set.

Bella's grave was right at the back of the cemetery, underneath a large yew tree, that's leaves had managed to significantly age the graves that lay within there reach. The simple white stone that was inscribed with Bella's name was already looking old and worn, no thanks to all the rain. Fresh flowers lay at the bottom, along with a picture of Bella that I had not seen before. It depicted my 'sister' on what I was guessing was her prom night along with a guy who was to put it lightly, drop dead gorgeous. No wonder Bella got married straight out of high school, mom had never shown me a picture of Bella on her wedding day, or one of the guy she had married. I didn't even know his name. Mom clearly didn't agree with early marriage, I don't know the reason for this but I think Bella's death is a part of it.

We stood around the grave quietly. Mom had tears slipping silently down her cheeks, Dad had his arm round her, comforting her, while I just stood there, making no noise and pretending I was somewhere else.

"Renee, is that you?" A man's voice asked from behind me. 

I turned to find a man of about mom's age, with grey thinning hair and a discrete beer-belly.

"Oh my, Charlie?" my mom replied before running over to the man and hugging him. "I haven't seen you in nearly fifteen years! How've you been?" 

Mom was almost squealing at the man now.

"Better, better than I was. The pain, it doesn't get any easier, does it?" 

Mom went and placed her hands on his shoulders, as if she was comforting an old friend.

"No." she replied right before bursting into tears.

I glanced over at my Dad and mouthed 'Who's that?'. 

Dad walked carefully towards me before whispering into my ear "That's Charlie, he was Bella's Dad and your Mom's ex-husband."

Wow, Mom had an ex-husband I didn't know about, what other dark, raunchy secrets was she keeping from me. Urgh, I shivered. To put it frankly I didn't want to know.

"So, how long you guys in town for?" Charlie asked.

"3 days." my Mom said as she wiped away her tears.

"Well that's great!" Charlie smiled. "You got any plans for tomorrow night?"

"Nope." Mom shook her head.

"Well im going to a bonfire down in La Push tomorrow, im sure that no one would mind if you guys came along. What do ya say?"

Mom looked at Dad, who nodded back before she answered "Sure we'd love to." 

Its nice my parents value my opinion when they're making decisions.

"Will Billy be there?" My Mom questioned. Who's Billy, her ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah, and Jake will too I think." Charlie replied. What the frig, how many men does my mother know in this small town?!

I stood there watching Mom and Charlie catching up for a while, until the rain forced the 'party' to break up. Mom promised that we'd stop by Charlie's before the bonfire tomorrow. Urgh.

We did nothing else at all after that. I ended up sitting on my bed trying to get hold of Steph again but she still wasn't answering. Its really not like her, maybe her Mom took her phone off her. Whatever. After eating my delicious McDonalds dinner I fell asleep at 8:30pm, on a Saturday, after coming to the conclusion that Forks, really wasn't a fun place to live.

**A N**

**Wow, this was a fast update, this is only because I had already written chapters 4 & 5 and just needed to type them up.**

**I went shopping in Birmingham today, they had posters about the breaking dawn release parties up! It made me sad, I will be on holiday then.**

**That brings me to my next point, on Monday I shall be leaving my house and not returning for 3 weeks, this will mean although (hopefully) many chapters will be written none will be posted.**

**I will try my god dammed hardest to finish chapter 6 tomorrow, but I cant promise anything.**

**Liviex**


	6. Chapter 6 :Hotdogs

* * *

Only Child Chapter 6

I awoke to find bright rays of golden sunshine streaking through the nylon curtains. It was disorientating, I lay in bed for almost an entire minute trying to remember when exactly I was. It came back to me eventually, I was in the 'lovely' town of Forks. Great. got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, even with the forecast sunshine, I knew from my Mom's experience that the weather up here could be unpredictable and in any case, Forks was no Florida.

It was around 9 am, I figured my parents would be awake now, and I was hungry for once. I made my way to their room, leaving my door latched- so I wouldn't have to fumble around with key cards on the way back.

"Mom, what's for breakfast?" I half-shouted as I knocked on the door.

The was the sound of rustling sheets and muffled voices from inside before my mom,-already clothed, her make-up fully applied- opened the door.

"Well be ready in about 5 honey, we're gonna grab a bite to eat at the diner your dad and I went to yesterday, you ok with that?"

I nodded. "Im gonna go wait in my room, come get me went your good to go." I headed back to my room to get my purse.

It took my parents nearly 25 minutes to come get me, my Dad's not really a morning person, unless sport or pancakes were involved. I figured at the moment, neither of them were.

I ended up having waffles with butterscotch sauce fir breakfast, we went to this diner that looked as if it were straight out of a 50's movie. It was actually kinda freaky. Everything about the place screamed 'Rock 'n' Roll', even the waitresses uniforms, which were salmon pink dresses. Who ever owned this place must be old or insane. Don't get me wrong, the food was great, but who wants to be greeted by salmon pink and a pained expression in the morning- nobody.

"Mom, what are we doing today?" I asked once we were all finished eating.

My mom sipped slowly from her coffee before answering. "Well, this morning we are going for a little hike in the forest,"

I groaned, Dad gave me a stern look.

"we wont stay too long, but I think we could all do with some fresh air for a change. Then at about 12:30 we are going to Charlie's for an hour, and after that we are going to La Push for a BBQ."

"Alright, sounds. . .fun." I smiled slightly. "But when we get to L.A, im choosing where we go."

Dad gave me a funny look. "Sounds great, beach, shopping, fancy restaurant, beach, fancy restaurant, shopping, beach, shopping. What more could we possibly want to do"

"Shut up Dad." I said, playfully smacking his arm. "We could go to a Dodgers game as well."

"You two finished?" Mom asked as she got up from the table. Dad and I nodded and followed her to the car.

The rest of the morning passed sluggishly, I'd never been one for nature or the outdoors, unless there was a beach involved. To be frank walking around in the forest bored me to tears, if I hadn't have had my ipod on me I would probably have gone insane. I don't know why my mom was soo desperate to go hiking anyway, she's not much of a nature girl either. I gotta admit though, the air up here is real clear, crisp almost; not like back home, people who aren't used to it say its like breathing in soup. Whatever, just cos they like breathing in air that's as thin as a piece of tracing paper. We were driving down a small, residential street now, it seemed like an eternity since I had seen anything that wasn't a tree. I would be glad when today was over.

Charlie, my Mom had told me earlier that morning, still lived in the house that they had brought together just after they had married, nearly 40 years ago! As we drove up to the small, weather building I felt a pang of, sadness. The house itself looked as lonely as its owner probably felt, if I hadn't had known better I would have thought that the place was abandoned.

"My god, this place hasn't changed at all!" my Mom thought aloud, Dad's hand reached out to grab hers gently. I just sat there, trying not to notice that we had arrived while my parents go out of the car. They stood on the sidewalk, starting intently at me in that way only a parent can- I reluctantly got out of the car. Mom and Dad strode towards the front door, leaving me trailing along like a lost puppy. I hated going to strangers houses, almost as much as I hated the 'great' outdoors.

Charlie answered the door with a booming 'Hello' before ushering us inside, first into a cramped hallway, and then a small, slightly outdated living room. I sunk slowly onto the couch and tried to get comfy, I could tell we were going to be here for a while.

Mom and Charlie prattled on for what seemed like hours; Dad said very little at first, but became more animated when the conversation began to swing toward sports. And I just sat there, saying virtually nothing and nodding every time me name was mentioned. One thing I did notice about Charlie's house was that the entire place seemed to smell of dust.

Just as I was starting to fall asleep, I heard Charlie ask "You guys gonna be ok to get down to La Push by yourselves or do you need a lift?"

"We should be alright thanks Charlie." replied my mom as she got slowly to her feet, my Dad and I copying her example. "See you in a few minutes then, we're headed to first beach right?" Mom asked.

"Yep, you'll be able to see everyone once you pull up in the car park."

"Thanks, see you there then."

It took us about 10 minutes to get to La Push, and park up in the tiny car park that was already half full. The sun was peeking timidly out from behind the sparse layer of clouds, I knew a sunny day had been too much to ask for.

By the looks of it, the BBQ was already in full swing when we arrived. There was a crowd almost of people of all ages surrounding a rather large bonfire. I trailed behind my parents, looking only at the sand.

The people of La Push, (well the guys at least) must be on steroids or something, they are all HUGE! Seriously, im average height but standing near these people makes me feel like a midget.

Mom and Dad stopped in front of an elderly guy sitting in a wheelchair, I automatically presumed him to be the elusive Billy I had recently learnt of. I glanced once around the sea of faces that surrounded me, none of them took any notice of me, well apart from this one guy. As I turned to face Billy I could have sworn I caught him gazing at me.

Mom was chatting animatedly to Billy, just as she had been to Charlie, Dad looked slightly uncomfortable. "Whatever." I mumbled as I went to go sit on a nearby log, today had soo not been a good day. Right now all I wanted was to take a long, hot bath and go to sleep.

Before I could even sit down on said log, I heard my Mom half-shout "Marie, would you come here for a moment honey."

I shuffled slowly back to where I had previously been standing.

"Billy, Jacob, this is my daughter Marie. Marie, this is Billy, Charlie's friend, and this is his son Jacob." I heard my Mom introduce. I looked up to see the guy who had been looking at me earlier, he was probably one of the tallest people I had ever seen, ever.

His face lit up as his gaze met mine, it rendered me breathless for a second.

"Hi." I waved awkwardly at them both. Billy just smiled, Jake however held out his hand. Hesitantly I took it. His skin was red hot.

"Nice to meet you," He said, a smile spreading across his face, I smiled shyly back. "So, what brings you to La Push?" He asked.

I gestured at him to follow me, something about Jacob made me just want to tell him everything, he seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't judge me for the truth.

We ended up sitting on the log I had gone to sit on earlier. "Well," I began, taking a deep breath.

"My Dad baseball team are on tour all summer, so Mom & I have to follow them round. They're playing in Seattle next week. Mom wanted us to come to Forks to go visit my half-sisters grave, which is a totally good thing for her to do, cos she actually knew the girl. But I wish she had let me stay in Seattle, cos no offence, but this place is kinda boring."

In the time I had delivered my short speech, the lovely smile had faded from Jacob's face.

"Your talking about Bella, right? He asked

"Yep. Did you know her or something?" I asked, for once truly curious about my dead relative.

"Yeah I did, I knew her pretty well actually. There was a time when she was my best friend."

I was shocked, Jacob didn't look old enough to have known my sister, not properly at least, he could only be what, 20.

"Really? You sure, you don't look old enough to have even known her…How old are you?"

"Im 32." he said, looking down at the floor.

My mouth popped open, literally.

"32, are you sure, I wouldn't have put you a day past 25!" I blurted out, inwardly detesting my sometimes childish trait of speaking before thinking. I didn't want to seem too forward with the guy. He was hot and all that, but, this guy was old enough to be my Dad. "How come you look so young, you had botox?" I asked, maybe I could get mom some of whatever Jake was using for her birthday.

"Im guessing good gene's…" He said, his voice trailing off at the end as we both looked over at his ancient looking father. "…maybe not." He said, with a grin so vastly spread over his face that I couldn't help but laugh. There was just something about him, I was unable to look away, because I knew when I did, I'd just end up looking straight back.

"You hungry?" He asked, his eyes sparking in the faint sunlight.

"Kinda." I replied, my eyes glancing toward my feet as I felt my cheeks heating up. Why was he having this effect on me, it was so intense, and the fact I wasn't used too it, made me feel slightly uncomfortable; even though I didn't want to feel that way.

He began walking towards a rather outdated barbeque where 2 women were busy cooking what looked like half the towns food supply.

"Jeez, how many people were you expecting to come?"

"3 less than actually showed up.," He said as he grabbed a plate. "you like hotdogs?"

"Yeah, who doesn't?"

He placed 3 hotdogs on my plate before handing it to me, and grabbing the entire tray for himself. For the second time that evening my jaw dropped.

"Your not planning on eating all that are you?" I quizzed him the moment we sat down again.

"Yeah, I was. Why, you want another one?" His eyes locked with mine for a brief moment.

"N…no, thanks." I stuttered as I looked at my plate.

As I ate I thought about Jake, I wanted to know why I felt the way I did about him. I was clearly crushing on the guy, it was harmless, right? I'd probably never see him again after tonight. Besides, he was twice my age, it was just creepy. I could feel myself blushing now, I needed to think of something else. Fortunately Jacob provided the distraction I desired.

"What you thinking so hard about?" He asked, his eyes skimming my face as he searched for the answer.

"Nothing." I replied as I began picking at my remaining hotdog with my fingers.

"Sure sure. That's what you want me to think. Im not a child, you cant fool me that easily."

"I know, but you made me forget what I was thinking about." I lied, in a way which I thought was convincing. Jacob raised his eyebrows at me.

Damn this guy was good, I needed to think of something, fast.

"I was…wondering about my friend. Her parents dragged her camping and she hasn't called me yet, she must be soo bored." I said, it wasn't a complete lie, I had been thinking about it; just not when he had asked.

"Hmm, her boredom will depend on where she has been dragged camping to."

"Somewhere in Arizona or Texas I think."

"Ahh, yeah, she'll be bored out of her mind. Now, please tell me what you were really thinking."

There was a slightly awkward silence.

"I was wondering, what erm, you do as a job?"

"Oh." He said in an almost disappointed way, like he had expected me to have been thinking something else. "Im a mechanic."

"A mechanic, that's cool. I take it you like cars then."

"Yeah, I do. Not many people get to do a job they love these days." He said, giving the impression that most of the people close to him were stuck in dead-end jobs.

"You and my parents seem like three of the lucky ones." I said as I glanced up at his face, smiling. Inside and out.

The rest of the evening passed on in the same way, we talked about casual things, deep things with real meaning and stuff that was so crazy, Jake made me seem the more mature one. It was as if there was nobody else sitting around the cracking bonfire, just us.

My mothers voice brought us back to reality.

"Marie, sweetie." She shouted from across the fire, where she stood wrapped in dad's arms. "Time to go."

"Sure thing Dad." I got to my feet. "Well Jake, this has been, really fun. It was nice meeting you." I smiled at him, taking a good, long look at his face before turning away.

"Wait, Marie."

I looked back at him.

A beautiful smile lit up his face "Can I have your cell phone number?"

**Authors Note**

omfg, it took me what, 2 months to post this chapter, you can totally send me death threats if you want, i feel awful about it. The next chapter hasnt even been started yet.

I will try to post more reguarly, maybe once a week if i can, no promises though.

please review, critisism is soo welsome, i need it!

thanks

liviex


	7. Chapter 7:In the blur of the Crowd

Last summer seemed a thousand years ago now, I'd had so much happen to me since then. My mind often wandered back to thoughts of then. Back when my life had been soo much easier. Back when I had been happy.

Senior year of high school is supposed to be the greatest; prom, yearbook, finals, graduation, plus that feeling of being the eldest, mature.

No one could have foreseen what actually happened.

No one.

My best friend Steph, and her family, were found, murdered then ripped into pieces in the Arizona desert, school had caught fire during our finals, causing the entire senior year to have to retake every single test, and to make matters worse, prom and graduation had been cancelled due to a freak hurricane! My diploma would be given to me by the mail man.

Still, I was thankful I could put that whole, awful year of my life behind me. Hopefully this summer would be just as good as the last.

I had kept in touch with Jacob. It was thanks to him I had stayed sane, while my life was falling to pieces around me, there he had stayed. So solid and unmoving, like my own personal mountain. I could talk to him for hours on end, about everything and nothing. And despite the vast distance between us, it was always as if he was sitting here with me.

Jacob Black was the best friend a girl could ask for. So when he had invited me to spend the summer in La Push, I hadn't wanted to say no.

The summer before college would be my last summer, the last shot I had at being a teenager. I wanted it to be fun and care-free- and if that meant spending it away from my family and home then so be it, I would.

I was stood at the check-in line at Jacksonville International Airport, Mom was beside me, small tears glistening as they waited in the corners of her eyes, ready to fall. Dad was just behind us, he gripped my bags as if his life depended on it. Enclosed in a comfortable silence, we etched forward with the queue. The check-in process passed in a daze. Airports were always tedious, before I knew it, I was standing in front of the security gates, about to say goodbye.

"Well.. Mom, Dad, I gotta go through now." I said as I took my carry-on from my dad, the weight of the bag causing my arm to drop.

"Oh sweetie," As I threw my bag onto my shoulder, my mom pulled me into a hug "Call me as soon as you get there."

"I will mom, don't worry." I smiled back at her, she could be so overprotective at times. I stepped back, giving my Dad a quick hug. I knew he wouldn't worry, it just wasn't like him to do so.

"So I guess, I'll see you guys next at, erm, Christmas." I said as I stepped towards the line.

"No you won't sweetheart." My mom had a happy grin on her face.

"Why?" I asked them. "Are you going away?" Damn it, the second I move out, they start going on holiday at Christmas.

"No, god, I wish." Mom flashed a smile at Dad, he returned the gesture. "I just meant that you will see us before that."

"When?" I questioned. They wouldn't just surprise me at Thanksgiving, would they?

"Well, your Dad and I are gonna fly out the week before you start college, help you get settled." My mom's eyes glinted with excitement.

"Mom, you don't have to do that." I told her.

"Marie, I do. We need to make sure that your okay there, that its not too far away from home for you."

"But mom.."

She cut me off. "But not. I want to honey, your supposed to take you child to college, it's tradition. I have to. Please, I. I didn't get to do this with your sister, so…"

Damn it, I inwardly cured myself. I had hurt mom's feelings. "Mom, its ok. Of course you can fly out. I just didn't want you to trouble yourself." I pulled her into another hug as thick, wet tears began rolling down her face.

"Flight AA370 to Seattle is now boarding at Gate 7. Would all passengers please make their way to the gate."

"Ah, Mom, Dad. I gotta go." I pulled out of my mother's embrace. "I love you, I'll call you went I get there."

I ran towards the security desk, grabbing my ticket from my carry on as I did. I didn't look back, not once. Fortunately the queue was short, as soon as I was clear, I headed towards my gate, and joined the throng of people waiting to board.

The plane journey seemed to last a lifetime. I was sat on the edge of my seat the entire time, I didn't listen to my ipod, I didn't watch the in-flight movie, I couldn't even bring myself to flick through one of the magazines my mom had slipped into my bag. Instead, I sat- with my head leaning against the window- and stared at the face of my watch as I thought of last summer.

By the time the plane landed I was glad to be off there. I had succeeded in leaving my crappy life behind me, I really hated Jacksonville. I rushed out of the cabin the second the doors opened and managed to reach the baggage claim before everyone else on the flight; that however, was where my luck ran out.

25 minutes later- my bags (finally) arrived on the carousel. I flung them haphazardly onto a trolley as I turned towards the arrivals terminal doors.

The crowd swallowed me as I left, at 5ft 5, I wasn't exactly tall enough to peer over everyone else's heads. But Jacob was. I heard his voice before I saw him, a whole head higher than every other person I saw. My speed picked up as I closed the distance between us, I was more than happy to see him. It seemed like forever since we'd been this close. I had missed him, a lot.

"Marie!" he exclaimed as he shut his phone, shoved it into the pocket of his jeans and pulled me into a tight bear hug the second I was in reach of his long, muscular arms.

"Jake." I smiled into his torso. "I've missed you."

I looked up to see a heart-warming smile spread across his face.

"How was the flight?" He asked as he took my trolley from me and began pushing it out of the building, towards the car park.

"Long." Was my reply. "I was soo glad when we landed." Jake muttered something under his breath, I couldn't quite tell what he said.

He stopped in front of a small, white car that looked a little too 'vintage' for my liking, not to mention the fact that it looked far too small to be driven by somebody of Jacob's stature.

"Nice car." I told him as he popped the trunk, I watched him lift my exceedingly heavy bags as if they were a sheet of paper._ 'I wonder if he could lift me like that'_ I began to think. What?_ Why am I thinking about Jacob in that way, he is my friend. Plus, he is old enough to be my father, my parents would never approve- even if he is smokin' hot._

I could feel my cheeks rapidly turning red, as I got into the passenger seat of his car. I had to gain some control over my thoughts. Fortunately, Jake's voice pulled me into the present.

"You sure your okay with staying in La Push. I mean, it isn't the most exciting of places."

"No, its cool. I just, need a change of scenery, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. So you'll be staying in my room. If your okay with that?"

His room -gulp. "Erm, Jake. The thing with that is, where will you sleep."

"On the couch of course." Jake replied as he started the engine.

"What, no. You stay in your room, I don't want to impose." I would be staying with the Black's for at least a month, I didn't want to get in there way anymore than was necessary.

"Marie, its fine. I'm used to sleeping on the couch, I don't sleep that much anyway. Besides, I have to every time my sisters come and visit."

"Exactly and I'm not one of your sisters. So, please. Can I stay on the couch?" I pouted, Jake's face saddened slightly as he pulled out of the car park.

"But…" He began.

"Jacob Black, you are a 30-something year old man, it would be weird if I stayed in your bed, ok. And I don't want people to get the wrong idea about us." I told him, becoming annoyed.

"Why would they get the wrong idea." He asked, seeming truly curious.

"Because Jake, La Push is a small town, and in small towns people talk."

"Your right, you are so right." He said, relaxing from a tense position I hadn't even noticed he was in.

"I usually am." I smiled, turning to face him. "So, I'm on the couch, got it?"

"Yes ma'am." He said, removing a hand from the steering wheel as he mock-saluted me. I couldn't help it. I laughed, and before I knew it, Jacob was too.

"So, what kind of car is this Jacob?" I asked him as we pulled onto the freeway, and I settled in for the drive.


End file.
